Win: Set of five thriller books
On September 24th a new novel will hit the shelves, featuring Ipswich-based probation officer, Cate Austin.
Mother Missing is the fifth book in the Cate Austin crime series, and is set in the fictional town of Saltness, on the Suffolk coast and home to a nuclear power station.
Bronte Lowe is a single mother and a civil nuclear constable at the power station. When she vanishes without a trace, in broad daylight, the locals have a theory it is connected to Saltness.
Meanwhile, Cate Austin is living a new life in Luxembourg. When her sister absconds from a rehabilitation unit on the Suffolk coast, Cate returns to find her. Her search collides with Bronte’s disappearance, unravelling a web of secrets, against a backdrop of local rage and a lucrative county lines network. This is rural Suffolk as you’ve never seen it before.
Author Ruth Dugdall was raised and educated in Ipswich, and she credits her previous career as a probation officer as being the inspiration for this award-winning series. “Probation officers,” she says, “are the unsung heroes of the criminal justice system, and my books shine a light on this mostly hidden world.”
After winning the CWA Debut Dagger for the first book in the series, Ruth resigned from the probation service. As a Royal Literary Fellow she has run writing workshops in NHS recovery colleges, as well as working at Essex University. Her novels have been described as ‘dark, twisty and original’.
Mother Missing will be launched at Felixstowe Library on Saturday September 26th from 3pm until 5pm. All Welcome. Ruth will also be speaking about the book at Ipswich Book Festival on Saturday 3rd October.
— COMPETITION —
Ipswich24 are delighted to have a signed set of all 5 books, including Mother Missing to give away to a lucky reader. To be in with a chance of winning this amazing prize just send your answer to the following question, along with your name, address and a contact telephone number to: Mother Missing Competition, Ipswich24, 69 Brunswick Road, Ipswich, IP4 4BS or you can enter online below (Note strictly only ONE entry per household for online entries). The closing date for entries is Friday 25th September 2026.
Which fictional town in Suffolk is the book set in?